3.2: El imperfecto

The Imperfect Tense

You've already learned how to talk about the past using the pretérito. Now, you're going to explore another way to describe past actions: the imperfecto.

In this lesson, you'll learn how to conjugate verbs in the imperfect tense, including:

• Regular verbs
• Stem-changing verbs (good news: they don’t change in the imperfect!)
• Irregular verbs (there are only three: ir, ser, and ver)

Regular Verbs

In the chart below, you will see the verbs "-ar", "-er, and -ir" ending in the imperfect tense in bold. Verbs "tomar", "leer" and "escribir" are conjugated in the imperfect tense shown in bold.

Imperfect Tense of Regular Verbs Tomar, Leer, and Escribir

Subject Pronoun	"-ar" ending	Tomar (to Take, to drink)	"er" and "ir" ending	Leer (To Read)	Escribir (To Write)
Yo	-aba	tomaba	-ía	leía	escribía
Tú	-abas	tomabas	-ías	leías	escribías
Usted, él, ella	-aba	tomaba	-ía	leía	escribía
Nosotros, nosotras	-ábamos	tomábamos	-íamos	leíamos	escribíamos
Vosotros, vosotras	-abais	tomabais	-íais	leíais	escribíais
Ustedes, ellos, ellas	-aban	tomaban	-ían	leían	escribían

Stem-Changing Verbs

There is no stem-changing verb in the imperfect tense. The stem-changing verbs are conjugated like a regular "-ar" or "-er", "-ir" verb. Note that all verbs conjugated in the imperfect tense shown below are highlighted in bold.

• "Tener" (e: ie) and "almorzar" (o: ue): Cuando los niños tenían hambre, almorzaban en la cafetería de la escuela.
• "Pedir" (e: i): Marisela siempre le pedía al mesero un vaso de agua y un café.
• "Jugar" (u: ue): Nosotros jugábamos al fútbol en el parque cada domingo.

Irregular Verbs

Imperfect Tense of Ir, Ser, and Ver

Subjet Pronoun	Ir (to go)	Ser (to be)	Ver (to see, to watch)
Yo	iba	era	veía
Tú	ibas	eras	veías
Usted, él, ella	iba	era	veía
Nosotros, nosotras	íbamos	éramos	veíamos
Vosotros, vosotras	ibais	erais	veíais
Ustedes, ellos, ellas	iban	eran	veían

Expressions of Time Used with the Imperfect Tense

Spanish	English
Siempre	Always
(Casi) siempre	(Almost) always
Frecuentemente, con frecuencia, a menudo	Frequently
Mientras	While
Generalmente	Generally
Todos los (días, meses, años, domingos, etc.)	Every day, month, year, Sundays, etc.
Todas las semanas	Every week
Nunca, jamás	Never
(Casi) nunca	(Almost) never
Una vez, dos veces (# veces por día, semana, mes, año, etc.)	Once, twice (# of times per day, week, month, year, etc.)
De vez en cuando, a veces	Sometimes
Normalmente	Normally
Cada día, semana, mes, año, primavera, verano, etc	Each day, week, month, year, Spring, Summer, etc.

Uses of the Imperfect Tense

Here are the uses of the imperfect tense with examples. Note that all verbs conjugated in the imperfect tense are in bold.

1. Habitual or repeated actions

   • Nos levantábamos a las siete todos los días.
     We used to get up at seven every day.

2. Age

   • Carlitos tenía 5 años en esta foto.
     Carlitos was 5 years old in this photo.

3. Physical characteristics

   • Lucía era alta y bonita. Y siempre tenía una sonrisa.
     Lucía was tall and pretty. And always had a smile.

4. Mental or Emotional states

   • Lucía era muy lista y trabajadora. Nunca estaba triste ni enojada.
     Lucía was very smart and hard-working. She was never sad or angry.

5. Telling time

   • Era la una de la madrugada. Eran las once.
     It was one in the morning. It was eleven.

6. Describing weather

   • Era una noche de tempestad. Llovía y había relámpagos.
     It was a stormy night. It was raining and there was lightning.

7. Events or actions that were on-going in the past/progressing

   • Yo tomaba el café mientras escuchaba la música.
     I was drinking the coffee while listening to the music.

   • Yo hacía la tarea mientras mi mamá preparaba la cena.
     I was doing the homework while my mom was preparing dinner.

   • Nosotros estábamos cantando la canción mientras ustedes estaban bailando al ritmo.
     We were singing the song while you were dancing to the rhythm